Beginner's Guide to Setup for Live Basement House Shows?

[joshhpmusic]

Hey everyone,

 

So I will be living in a house very soon in our university neighborhood where house shows are a big thing. We will have a pretty large basement and plan on throwing our own shows, with bands and all the other things you can imagine...

 

My question is, any beginner's tips on what we will need to provide good/interesting lighting for this kind of show? It doesn't need to be extremely bright, but we do want it to be impressive as a venue.

 

One thing in particular that we would like to do is have lights controllable via midi switches, possibly by multiple band members and/or a live computer setup, maybe in MainStage or Logic. We could then have a spotlight focus on the musician soloing, and a different scene of colors and effects at different points. I know this probably involves DMX of some sort, but again I am not very knowledgable in this area yet.

 

Any tips on what kinds of rigs, scale, how many of what, and even specific affordable gear recommendations would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks so much,

-Josh

[daddymack]

ceiling height? Room dimensions? Stage area? wall finish?

define "affordable"?

gotta give us a bit more info...

[joshhpmusic]

ceiling height? Room dimensions? Stage area? wall finish?

define "affordable"?

gotta give us a bit more info...

 

I'll be moving in on Thursday so I'll be able to get you exact dimensions at that time. Currently looking at things like:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FXarrayQ5--chauvet-dj-fxarray-q5-rgbuv-led-wash-array

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/4BARUSB--chauvet-dj-4bar-usb-4-by-rgb-par-system-with-stand

For wash and general colors, and then something for effects like strobe or lasers:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BoomBoxFX1--adj-boom-box-fx1-4-in-1-dome-derby-wash-laser

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ScorpDual--chauvet-dj-scorpion-dual-aerial-laser-effect

 

These are only initial options I'm looking at, but the goal I'd like to achieve is good quality lighting in a fairly small space that can provide a nice wash of color along with special effects to make it exciting, and be able to be fully controlled via MIDI, by anyone on stage. I figure I will need something like a DMXIS box for this.

 

Not sure the quantities, wattages, brightnesses or number of lights I will need. This is where I look to people with more experience.

 

Thanks,

-Josh

[joshhpmusic]

So I am moved in and have T-minus 7 days until first house show...

 

In trying to figure out what different lights / how many, I have created a room layout with dimensions:

 

As you can see, the rug in back is where the drum kit is situated, and then the singer will be a few feet in front of that. The black boxes on the sides are the PA speakers. The real speakers can be seen in the pictures I've uploaded too.

 

So my questions are:

 

1. What should I use to get a good, DMX controllable wash? Do I need lights on both sides, and/or behind the singer?

 

2. Effects- any recommendations for strobe, laser, or other effects? And where I should mount them.

 

3. Any other knowledge you have to share to a beginner about getting a good lighting setup going?

 

Some input would be very much appreciated!

 

Thanks,

-Josh

[stevegarris]

Hey Josh, sorry I'm just seeing your thread. Did you get your light system figured out?